DI Ch 209

Instead of starting the meal right away, I asked him casually.

“You got a job, right?”

“Thanks to you.”

His humble response didn’t match the stressed look on his face. Even though I had mentally cheered him on, I doubt it had any real effect. Does starting a job make you humble? Anyway, when I asked about school, he naturally replied that he had filed for employment leave. Since he’s someone with clear goals, there was no way he would have dropped out now. It made sense that he used the word ‘naturally.’

“I work near here.”

My heart, which had been anxious, now beat with joy.

“Congratulations.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“I believed in you.”

“What’s there to believe?”

“Really… I’m really happy for you.”

“No, it’s not a big deal. Why are you so happy about this?”

Though he seemed embarrassed, blushing and squirming awkwardly, I congratulated him wholeheartedly. I meant it sincerely when I said congratulations. Though my memory was a bit hazy, I was sure that this job was completely unrelated to Kang Moo-hyun. During my prior research for part two, this place hadn’t come up at all, so I was confident.

The unease and discomfort I had felt about possibly drawing the Joker card disappeared completely. Since he’s always been good at handling things on his own, I knew he’d be doing well. While I can’t say he’s completely off track, his fate was steadily veering away. That’s good. I’m relieved.

“So, there’s nothing going on with senior Kang Moo-hyun?”

“Hey, seriously.”

It wasn’t difficult to ruin the warm, relaxed atmosphere that had just settled. Woo Ji-min’s face, which had been calm, contorted as he got annoyed.

“Why bring up that bastard suddenly?”

“Exactly. I don’t particularly want to talk about him either.”

“What? Then don’t.”

He put down the chopsticks he was about to pick up.

“I can’t. What if he bothers you again?”

“……”

“Anyway, are you two still meeting?”

“Ah. We’re not! And I’ll handle it myself! Don’t worry about such things. Why are you concerned about my business? Don’t!”

I’ve always thought this, but I can never figure out what sets him off.

“…What I’m saying is, don’t worry even if it bothers you. What if you get married, hyung?”

“……”

“Then I think I’d be reassured and wouldn’t worry anymore.”

Marriage would be definite. While I felt satisfied, he just bit down on his lip. I stared at him, wondering if he’d tear it. Noticing my gaze, he covered his mouth with his hand. It seemed like he was carefully choosing his words, but it looked like it was going to take a while. I decided to eat while I waited. Hmm, I definitely need to bring hyung here.

By the way, eating such a lavish meal outside makes it feel strange when the dishes on the table start to dwindle. To feel like I’ve had a proper meal, I need to have dessert as well as the basics. Despite my years of living alone, it’s been ages since I cooked my own meals, cleaned, or did laundry. I’ve really become a pampered young master.

“…Is it delicious?”

“Yes. You should eat too, hyung.”

“…You eat a lot.”

“Yes. This place is nice. The food is delicious.”

“Of course it’s delicious. It’s expensive.”

He sighed, saying he used to be fine eating simple meals, but now he can’t eat like he used to. It was surprising to hear someone who used to skip meals to save money now say that there are too many delicious things in the world and that he only goes for good things even if they’re expensive.

“I don’t know about Kang Moo-hyun either.”

He murmured absentmindedly, before letting out a small sigh and continuing.

“When I couldn’t get in touch with you, he also stopped coming to school around the same time… When both of you disappeared at the same time, all sorts of thoughts ran through my head. It made me uneasy, kept making me think of bad possibilities, and I started wondering if it was because of me.”

“How could it be because of you, hyung? But that senior did that? Without even applying for a leave of absence?”

“Yeah. Suddenly, like you.”

Unless he was kidnapped like me, why would he do something so disadvantageous? I was obviously kidnapped by an organization opposing Tae Seong-je, but since Kang Moo-hyun wouldn’t be involved with such groups, the situation couldn’t be explained other than him disappearing on his own. Then why? I didn’t know the reason, but I hoped that man would get expelled too.

“That’s unusual.”

“It is unusual. Honestly, I want to stop caring, but has he really messed up my future that much? It’s annoying, but I’m curious if something happened to him.”

“Don’t tell me you’re worried?”

“No? I just want to be at ease if he’s screwed. I want to be sure I won’t get involved with him anymore. Ah, but usually when strange things happen around me, it’s often my fault.”

“You shouldn’t believe in such things. Don’t believe in probabilities like that. And my kidnapping was because of my boyfriend, it had nothing to do with you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…Huh?”

Ah, of all times, it happened right before the finals, so I couldn’t even take the exams. How much better it would have been if it happened after the semester ended. Or if I was in my second year. With just the first semester of freshman year completed, I wouldn’t even meet the transfer requirements, so I can’t apply. Whether in my previous life or this one, I’ve never been able to finish the second semester properly. Am I cursed? I knew it was just a random thought, but I couldn’t help sighing. How could I compare my junior year’s first semester to freshman year? Even if I fall behind, I’m confident I can catch up quickly, but it’s still exhausting before even starting. When will I ever graduate? In my third life, maybe?

While I was having these bitter thoughts, Woo Ji-min, who had been staring with his mouth wide open, started to stammer out a question.

“What are you saying? What on earth are you talking about? What happened to you?”

“I was kidnapped. Ah, you didn’t know? Don’t feel bad; it’s not just you—nobody knows. But that’s all in the past. The important thing is school. I didn’t take my finals for the second semester, and I haven’t registered for the next semester. That means I’ll basically be expelled, right? Freshmen can’t take a leave of absence anyway, so it’s obvious how this will end. Even if I explain the situation, there’s no way they’ll make an exception, so…”

“What? Wait, who told you that? That’s not how it works at our school!”

Huh? But that’s how it was at our school. Woo Ji-min’s expression turned strange at my mumbling. His face seemed to say, “Are you attending a different school from me?” That’s when I realized I’d made a mistake. Since both schools have the same name, I assumed the procedures and systems were the same, but apparently, they aren’t.

“No, I’m not sure about these things either, but why don’t you go to the department head and explain the situation? You never know what might happen. It’s not like you were playing around at school, and given your usual conduct, they might handle it well or there might be other alternatives. Even if you’re going to give up, don’t give up without knowing all the facts.”

“Yes.”

“Tell them everything that’s happened since last year. It’s too late today, so contact the teaching assistant tomorrow morning and set up a time.”

“……”

Woo Ji-min, with a pale face, trembled as he worriedly asked if anything serious had happened to me. I gratefully watched his concern, but the situation was awkward, and I couldn’t quickly say I understood. Woo  Ji-min, who quickly noticed this, asked curiously.

“Why aren’t you saying you understand?”

“Well, revealing that to the school might be a bit… Things like kidnapping or disappearance…”

It’s good to avoid the risk of expulsion. That would make transferring faster too, saving time. It’s all good, but…

“To make a judgment, they’d need to do a police investigation, right? To see if it’s a lie or not. Then my family would be notified, which would be troublesome.”

“I guess so? Why is that?”

“My parents don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

“……”

“…No way, right?”

I couldn’t bring myself to answer. What parents wouldn’t know their child had been missing for an entire season? Even I knew how ridiculous and abnormal that sounded, so I just avoided his gaze and looked away. But when I saw the shock in Woo Ji-min’s eyes growing, it became impossible to stay silent. When I reluctantly shrugged my shoulders, he gasped in horror and recoiled.

“They don’t know? Why don’t they know? How can they not know? Didn’t you tell them? Even if you didn’t, still. Is this something that can be hidden? They wouldn’t have been able to contact you all this time, right?”

“They say no news is good news…”

“Hey!”

He scolded me severely, asking how I could not inform my family after such a momentous event, and what kind of mindset would allow that. When I argued that it was all in the past and that ignorance is bliss, he harshly told me to stop talking nonsense. Although he’s not the type to meddle in others’ family affairs, he seemed to have discussed and heard things from Seo Seung-joon, as he didn’t back down easily. He was genuinely worried about my parents, or more precisely, my mental state. Even though he was smaller and more delicate than me, his eyes looked like those of someone exasperated with a mentally unstable younger sibling, and I felt I couldn’t win against that.

“Do you think hiding it solves everything? Do you think you can hide it forever?”

I’d heard something similar recently, but didn’t that mean it was fine as long as I could hide it for life? After all, the promise to be honest was something I made with Tae Seong-je, not with Woo Ji-min. So I silently accepted his scolding, taking it as a tacit agreement to his own silence about his fate. Fortunately, the course meal naturally broke the flow, and we finished the meal sharing that long story he mentioned, unfinished conversations, and small talk about recent happenings.

“Are you leaving?”

“It’s late.”

“…It’s only 7 PM?”

“As much as I’d like to stay, there’s someone waiting for me at home.”

Unlike Woo Ji-min, who does well on his own, Tae Seong-je, my hyung, were both soft-hearted and sensitive that if left alone for too long he would get depressed, so I needed to be by his side. I was also anxious about leaving hyung alone in that big house. Even though other people were there, I couldn’t help but worry.

As we stepped outside, a warm breeze brushed against my forehead.

“It’s hot. Summer will be here soon.”

“What are you talking about? This is cool. By the way, your brother knows but why didn’t he say anything? I can’t understand him either. Anyway, whether you tell or not is your freedom, but if you want to graduate properly, make sure to tell the school.”

Although he said it was my freedom, it was essentially telling me to speak up. When I obediently said I understood, he nodded with a slight smile.

“Take care.”

Take care? I felt like that was something he should be hearing, not me.

Let’s grab a meal again sometime. Next time, I’ll pay. I actually planned to pay today.”

“Nah, you’re a student. Where would you get the money for that?”

For a moment, his tone sounded unusually mature, and I couldn’t help but laugh.